The internet has been struck with horror after YouTuber Jesse Ridgway announced that he and his wife aborted the child whose pregnancy they were documenting online — all because their preborn baby may have had Down syndrome. 

Ridgway, who goes by the username “McJuggerNuggets” online, announced in March that he and his wife Ashley were having a baby. 

The YouTuber used issues in the pregnancy as clickbait in a YouTube video titled, “We Received Devastating News… *PSYCHO UPDATE*” with a thumbnail that read, “WE MAY LOSE THE BABY.” 

Not long after, Ridgway announced that they had aborted their baby after prenatal testing showed their baby had a high chance of having Trisomy 21, or Down syndrome.

“This week, my wife and I made the very difficult decision to terminate the pregnancy due to Trisomy 21,” wrote Ridgway on X. “The choice was not made lightly . . . Down Synd[r]ome isn’t a “blessing”, it is objectively sh–––y from a health perspective. I didn’t realize just how rough it is for the child, let alone the family…more often than not, they would be fully dependent on others for the rest of their life.

This week, my wife and I made the very difficult decision to terminate the pregnancy due to Trisomy 21.

The choice was not made lightly. We really appreciate all of the personal stories that you guys shared with us, especially the unconditional support we received from fans…

— Jesse Ridgway (@McJuggerNuggets) June 3, 2026

The announcement came with immediate backlash. Ridgway has since spoken out against his critics, calling them “hateful” for not supporting his decision to kill his child. 

What Ridgway fails to address is how hateful it is to kill his own preborn child for no other reason than the child’s potential disability. What message does that send to people with Down syndrome and other disabilities who are living today? 

Meanwhile, Ridgway happily supported his dog Jenny through Stage 4 kidney disease, calling her a “superhero.” 

“We all need a hero in this life,” wrote Ridgway on his Instagram. “Jenny has been one of mine. Keep fighting, Miss Poppy. We love you lots!!” 

Students for Life of America’s (SFLA) Kristan Hawkins responded to Ridgway’s announcement of the abortion on X, stating that children never “deserve death because they would have had a more challenging life than others.” 

I feel so bad for your child who you killed. He or she didn’t deserve death because they would have had a more challenging life than others. Death was not a cure.

To every person who is reading and has Downs, cystic fibrosis, or another potentially fatal genetic disability, I…

— Kristan Hawkins (@KristanHawkins) June 4, 2026

Even if that weren’t the case, prenatal diagnoses are not set in stone. In fact, prenatal testing never says with certainty whether a child will be born with Down syndrome. Tests only identify “increased risk” of a preborn baby having Down syndrome. “The test can’t determine with certainty whether the fetus is affected,” according to the University of California San Francisco.  

This means Ridgway may have aborted a completely healthy baby.

Despite the well-documented inaccuracy of prenatal testing, anywhere from 67% to 85% of preborn children with a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome in the U.S. are aborted. 

This happens because of the evil and discriminatory thought processes of people like Ridgway. When asked by a viewer on a subsequent livestream if he was glad he wasn’t aborted, Ridgway continued his othering of disabled children, stating “Of course I’m glad my dad didn’t f–––ing terminate me, but I’m normal.” 

His behavior has sparked more than public outrage. Ridgway disclosed that Ashely’s family has spoken out privately and publicly against the abortion and his behavior, telling Ashley to leave him. 

Ridgway publicly blasted her family in the description of a Facebook post with a video taken the night after Ashley had the abortion. 

SFLA has spoken out on social media against the execution of preborn children for potential disability, as have countless parents of children with Down syndrome and advocates for individuals with disabilities. 

SFLA will continue to fight for the life and dignity of all people, regardless of perceived ability. And we will fight until abortion has not only ended, but is unthinkable.

READ MORE FROM STUDENTS FOR LIFE:

READ: Students for Life Action Calls for Reintroduction of the ‘Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act’ to Protect Preborn Children from Discrimination

READ: Here’s What You Need to Know About Any Prenatal Diagnosis

READ: BBC Highlights the Faulty Prenatal Diagnosis Tragedy: Aborting ANY Child for Health Reasons Undermines Their Value

READ: Paralympics Proves the Pro-Life Point: Every Life is Valuable

READ: ALMOST ABORTED Makes HUGE Splash with MILLIONS of Views, Starting Conversations and Changing Minds! Here are the Details.